I shared this with my table group on Saturday, but I feel it is a good example of reflecting on our past in order to give honor where it is due.
When I gave my life to Christ in 2001, I found myself super critical of my early years in the Lutheran Church. Now that my faith was "real," I thought all of this must have been fake. But what it took me a while to realize was that just because I have now embraced the meaning of something in my life, doesn't mean it didn't have meaning before I decided it did.
And so, I've come to see the years of attending worship every Sunday as having an incredible impact on the growth of my faith. When kids accept Christ at YL camp who have never been to church, they have a really difficult time seeing the importance of weekly worship for their spiritual growth. This habit is hard to establish. But I immediately connected into a local congregation and began to attend worship regularly.
I have also recognized the power of song to form our spiritual lives. There are moments when a song will unexpectedly arise from my throat. These songs are often songs from my childhood that I don't remember learning. Sometimes I find a song recalled that came at just the right moment for where I was at.
Other times the words of Lord's Prayer, said every night before bed with my parents and every week in worship, comes to mind. Knowing the prayer, I then allow it to be an outline for a time of conversation with God.
And when I was learning the "foundations" of the faith in my early years as a Christian, I discovered that most of my learning was recap. Having memorized the Apostle's Creed for Confirmation and having said it week after week in worship, I had embedded within me the core doctrines of the Christian faith.
I am thankful that my parents diligently made it a priority for us to attend weekly worship, participate in our church's youth activities, and enfold ourselves in the life of the church. God used my parents, years before I would ever put my trust in Christ, to plant seeds of faith and to establish a firm foundation. When my faith became "real," I was not picked off the path by birds, or destroyed by the weather, but had deep (though unseen) roots that nurtured my new personal faith.
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5 comments:
reminds me of the different traditions over all denominiations and how they can be used for worship. I know we have Nazbo pride, but I really believe in a catholic univeral church. I don't believe that there is one correct doctrine (we all fall short) but that we should pull teachings, practices, and traditions to help refine our faith.
It's been said that John Wesley was the best at practicing the "catholic" or universal nature of the Church. He was firmly rooted in a Protestant version of Catholicism (Church of England), heavily read in the Early Greek Fathers (Eastern Orthodox), embraced the experiential emphasis of the Pietists, etc.
However, we do have to be discerning in the process. There are elements from many traditions that can be considered to border on heresy.
Heresy, shmerecy...You mean I can't worship idols at this church?!
"Schmerecy" eh? haha... idol worship definitely makes the Old Testament lists of crimes-against-God worthy of getting the smack laid down on you. So...
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